


Cast a Cold Eye

by thx4thevenombby



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Vacation, theyre happy and together and everything is good, this is like a sort of follow up sequel thing to Unbreakable Flight, this is super short and im sry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 15:36:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15754638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thx4thevenombby/pseuds/thx4thevenombby
Summary: -epilogue to Unbreakable Flight-“Well I think we’ve found a destination.” Nagito mumbled, pulling the knife out of the wall and running his thumb over the slight dent it had made. Hajime took the map down.“I guess you’re right.” Maybe choosing a random spot on a map for vacation wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.





	Cast a Cold Eye

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fruitelves](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fruitelves/gifts).



> Okay so I wrote this fic for fruitelves, because he's literally like sent me the nicest comments on my writing since I first started writing komahina and it means a ton to me but I'm really bad at using my words to say thank you so I wrote this, instead. It's super short and super bad so I am very sorry about that!!!!!  
> Anyway, thanks so much for reading!

It had been slightly less than a year since Nagito’s heart had stopped and started again. Six months of a quiet gratefulness that both him and Hajime shared equally in. They’d always been happy with their time together, and especially the months they’d believed were their last together had been revered, but it had became a different sort of appreciation. Less rushed and sinusoidal. For once in their lives, both Hajime Hinata and Nagito Komaeda were calm. 

A new season of classes had started for Hajime and now spring break was rolling in again. It had only just been last spring break that the two had gone on their first vacation together. This year, they were having a much more difficult time deciding where to go. Hajime had heard from Chiaki’s family that they’d be visiting Colorado at the same time, and while he got along with them, he wasn’t keen on the idea of telling them that he was involved with someone new. Nagito and him had spent hours debating and discussing different places to go and see. Nothing ever came to a head. “Okay, y’know what? We’re gonna do that trick with the darts.” Hajime finally grumbled and stood up, rummaging through one of his drawers for a map. He pulled one out. “Er, do you happen to have any darts?” He turned to Nagito. 

“Hm.” Nagito checked his pockets like he was genuinely thinking about it. “Sorry to disappoint, but I’m empty handed.” He frowned. He picked up a knife Hajime had left in the living room earlier. “We can use this.”

“That seems… dangerous.” Hajime frowned. He glanced around the room. “But it’s our best option. I’m just gonna-” He trailed off, leading Scruffy out of the room.  _ No risking the dog.  _ He thought to himself. “Alright, take your shot.” He told Nagito, using some tape to stick the map to the wall. Nagito let out a short laugh. 

“With my luck?”

“You have good luck.” 

“Exactly.” Nagito shook his head. “I’d pick somewhere great but then something would have to happen on vacation to even it out.” He stood up and walked over to Hajime. “Take your chances, Hajime.” 

Hajime took a breath and raised his hand holding the knife in front of him, closing one eye to aim for the map. He tensed, ready to throw it when suddenly the world went black. “Hey!” It took him a moment to realize it was just Nagito covering his eyes. “What’re you doing?”

“It’s not fair if you can aim.” Nagito breathed in his ear. Hajime felt himself shiver. He raised his arm again and threw the knife. He heard a  _ thud _ from the other side of the room. 

“Ah! Great job, Hajime!” Nagito took his hands away and clapped them together as he approached the map. Hajime blinked, getting used to the light again, and followed Nagito. He frowned at the paper. “You got it on the map!” Nagito smiled. The knife was stuck into the map directly in the middle of the Indian Ocean, far away from any islands or countries. Hajime sighed and pulled the knife from the map. 

“Let’s…  _ not _ go there.” He handed the knife to Nagito. “See, this is why I thought you should do it.”

A car alarm went off outside, startling both of them. The knife slipped from Nagito’s hand and managed to somehow stick back on the wall. They both blinked at it in surprise. The tip of the knife had just barely avoiding slicing the name Sligo, Ireland. “Well I think we’ve found a destination.” Nagito mumbled, pulling the knife out of the wall and running his thumb over the slight dent it had made. Hajime took the map down. 

“I guess you’re right.” 

 

* * *

 

 

The next day, Hajime spent his lunch break researching Sligo. He’d thought the name sounded familiar at the time, but now he was realizing it was because he’d actually read a paper on it once in college. It was the home of William Butler Yeats and the place he’d written many of his poems about. Poetry had never been Hajime’s favorite thing to study in literature, but he did enjoy it all the same.  _ Hm. Nice weather, good history. Maybe Nagito’s luck really did play a part in this.  _ Hajime thought as he scrolled through a tourism page. He’d never been to Ireland, before. He’d visited England many times, but Ireland was a first. It wasn’t for Nagito, but at least Sligo was. He was just grateful they’d finally found somewhere they could both be happy going. Venice had been too hot for Nagito. Monte Carlo had been too expensive for Hajime. Nagito had been to Luzern four times already and Hajime was the same way with Mexico City. 

Hajime booked their flights and started packing just a week or so later. He threw things into his suitcase and wandered out of the room, looking for the right books to bring with him on the trip. He was often prone to putting his suitcase over the weight limit through packing too many books. He grabbed a few from his shelves downstairs and came back up to find his suitcase organized and Nagito setting his own suitcase on the bed. “Thanks for, uh, helping with that.” Hajime gestured to the suitcase. Nagito grinned. 

“It’s more of a habit than a conscious act at this point.” He was meticulously folding each piece of clothing that he put into his suitcase and smoothing out the wrinkles before he would lay another article of clothing over it. Hajime remembered back in Colorado when he’d come home one day to find his suitcase rearranged and organized by Nagito. He smiled at the memory. “This will be our first time flying together.” Nagito remarked, using the flat of his hands to try and push his clothes down to fit inside a compartment. 

“I didn’t even realize. Jeez. I guess I never really fly anywhere.” Hajime shrugged and sat on the bed, taking a break. Nagito continued packing, talking as he worked. 

“When I was younger, I was terrified of planes. Did you know it’s a one in eleven million chance of your plane crashing? Those are pretty high odds for me.” He blinked down at his suitcase. “Makes me feel responsible for everyone else on the plane if my bad luck brings it down, doesn’t it?”

“Nah.” Hajime shook his head. “You’re only responsible for yourself.”

Nagito just flashed a small smile in response.  _ Well there’s one other person, Hajime.  _ He thought, folding a pair of jeans. “We should leave here tomorrow by seven am.”

“That’s not too bad.” Hajime was used to his school starting just slightly after that. Nagito nodded in agreement. “I booked us a hotel room. Think you’ll be able to swim?” Hajime’s eyes shifted to Nagito’s wrists without him meaning to. The last time they’d swam together, the night had ended in a way Hajime didn’t want to repeat. Nagito seemed oblivious to the thought and nodded.

“Dr. Naegi said a little physical activity would be good for me. I’ve been walking Scruffy but I think a pool would probably be better.”

“I meant more just for fun.”

“Ah, yes. Of course, Hajime.” Nagito scratched the back of his neck, laughing a little. Hajime felt a grin creep up his face. It had been almost two years since they’d met and the way Nagito said his name still made his heart beat a little faster. 

The night went by quickly and the morning came by fast.  _ Too fast _ . Hajime’s mind grumbled as his alarm went off. He groaned and turned it off with his hand that was free. His other hand was trapped under the bony pillow Nagito. He kissed his forehead. Nagito made a noise but didn’t stir. Hajime tapped his shoulder. “Nagito wake up, we gotta start getting ready.”

“Mm.” Nagito mumbled something incoherent and sat up, stretching. His hair was even more disheveled than usual. After living with him for so long, Hajime had come to realize that his hair looked the way it did because Nagito had long since given up on brushing it properly. Despite the errant lock of hair that always seemed to want to stand up, Hajime held out hope that one day his own hair would cooperate. He got ready and dragged his suitcase downstairs. Nagito was still working on his half hearted attempt at fixing his mess of hair so Hajime dragged his suitcase for him, too. Thanks to the more reasonable amount of heavy books in it, it weighed far less than Hajime’s. Nagito didn’t notice until Hajime came back into the room and sat on the bed. “Ah, thank you, Hajime. You really didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s no problem.” Hajime waved off the thanks. Healthier or not, Hajime didn’t think carrying suitcases up and down stairs was good for a heart as weak as Nagito’s. And either way, it felt good to help him out. It always had. 

Nagito shrugged on some clothes and they were ready to leave. After dropping Scruffy off at Gundham’s house, they got to the airport, checked their baggage, and got some breakfast together. “So are you still nervous about flying?” Hajime asked over their food. 

“No. At least, I don’t think so. More nervous about the length. Though, we’re lucky we were able to get a direct flight.” Nagito flipped over the airport magazine at their table and read the back cover. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever flown ten hours at once, before. I’ve always had a connection or something between.” Hajime nodded. 

“We will survive.”

“Er, I’d hope so.” Hajime laughed. Nagito smiled. 

 

* * *

 

 

Sure enough, the flight was long. At least, for Hajime. He’d started reading a book when they’d boarded, but it had quickly gotten too dark to read well and the overhead lights weren’t very bright. He tried watching a movie on the screen but found himself falling asleep too often to enjoy it. Nagito, who had insisted on having the middle seat, had been chatting with the old woman next to him about her cats for the last three hours. Hajime was watching them out of the corner of his eye. The slight seemed less unbearable watching Nagito’s animated expressions and excitement over the fourth cat the woman was showing him pictures of. Hajime settled back in his chair and fell into a much easier sleep than before. 

When Nagito nudged him awake, an announcement over the loudspeaker was telling them to prepare for descent. Hajime took a piece of gum from his bag and handed one to Nagito to help with their ears popping. They got off the plane, got their bags, and called a taxi from the airport to their hotel. As they approached, Nagito’s eyes went wide. “Wow.” He stared at the front of the hotel. “It looks like a castle, doesn’t it?” He looked happy. Hajime nodded. 

“I thought you’d like it.” Hajime knew Nagito had a certain penchant for aesthetically pleasing things. He’d picked the hotel based on that. As Nagito had said, it looked like a castle, with large, gray brick walls and towers near the front entrance. They checked into their room, jetlagged and exhausted. Almost immediately, Hajime collapsed onto the bed. Nagito followed suit, resting his head on Hajime’s shoulder, his wild hair tickling Hajime’s chin. Hajime closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, taking in Nagito’s scent and his warmth. It seemed like not that long ago, that he’d thought there would be a time when he’d never be able to hold Nagito again. He’d worried a few times that one day the ever-present thankfulness he felt at just having Nagito alive would fade, but something told him it wouldn’t. 

Nagito felt much the same way. For the first time, he was excited to be alive. He had nothing looming over his head. No Junko or illness or self-loathing. He was free. It had been a rocky road to where they were but it was one Nagito would travel again in a heartbeat if he had to. 

They fell into a peaceful sleep and when they woke up the next morning, trudged downstairs for breakfast. The two ate quickly and then headed off towards their first destination of spring break. Nagito and Hajime had been going on walks together a lot recently, since Nagito had been regaining his strength. He’d read about a scenic village not far from where they were staying called Rosses Point with a famous walking trail that was rumored to have been the inspiration for some of Yeats’ poetry. “Back in college, I read a paper on Sligo in my poetry unit. I completely forgot about it until I bought our tickets.” Hajime started a conversation as they approached the beginning of the trail. 

“I’ve always been a fan of Yeats.” Nagito mumbled, eyes scanning the beautiful cliff they were on. Some wind whipped past them, blowing his hair around like a tornado. Hajime laughed.

“Really?” 

“Mhm.” Nagito pushed the hair out of his face and continued walking with Hajime. He could smell the ocean water in the air. “You aren’t?”

“It’s not that, I just… I’ve never been as big of a poetry person as a novel person if that makes sense. I like some poems a lot, though.” He shrugged, helping Nagito up a steep set of a few stairs. “I guess I just wanted more, y’know? Like, when you finish a poem, it’s over. Most aren’t even that long. I liked novels ‘cause you got so much more time to experience them.” He looked up at the sky, which was baby blue and seemingly endless. Nagito followed his gaze to it. 

“Want to play a game?” A memory came back to Nagito of a trick he’d learned in college. 

“Right now?” Hajime raised an eyebrow. Nagito nodded. 

“Describe how you feel about the sky in two words.” He watched Hajime think with fascination.  _ I used to think it was a shame that I’d never get the chance to understand Hajime. Now I have that chance. Hopefully I’m not wasting it. I do feel like I’m understanding him more with each day that passes. At least, how to talk to him. Then again, he’s more patient these days so it could just be that.  _

“Uh, alright. Um, endless and… shared, I guess.”

“‘Shared?’”

“Well, ‘cause it’s everyone’s sky, right? I mean, we all look at the same sky. It’s kinda like we’re sharing it.”  _ For being an English teacher, you’d think I’d be better with words.  _ Hajime grumbled in his mind. Nagito smiled. 

“Now look at the ocean.” Nagito pointed towards it. “Two words to describe it.”

“Vast. Beautiful.” Hajime was faster this time. Nagito smiled, eyes trained on the lapping water in front of them. Nagito used to remind Hajime of water, constantly changing direction and difficult to nail down. But he was getting easier. Softer.  _ Or maybe that’s just the both of us. _

“The sky is how you feel about Heaven and the ocean is how you feel about life. We used to play a game like it in college all the time. One of my philosophy professors taught it to me. I think he was just trying to find a way to entertain me long enough to get me to stop coming to his office every day, though.” Nagito snickered. Hajime snorted.

“Yeah we used to have a game like that in college, too, but it was a bit different.” He gestured towards one of the cliffs in the distance. “You and I are going to bungee jump off that cliff. How do you feel about it?” There was something behind his smirk but Nagito wasn’t sure what, so he thought about his response. 

“Hm… Excited? I’m not really wearing the right clothes to go bungee jumping.” He looked down at his sweater. Hajime’s smirk deepened. 

“What sort of clothes are you supposed to be wearing, then?”

“I’m not sure, something that can get wet, I guess.” Nagito gestured the roaring ocean under the cliff. Hajime burst out laughing. 

“That one’s supposed to be what you think of sex.” He got out between laughs. Nagito had the audacity to look scandalized, like he hadn’t played similar pranks on Hajime countless times. “‘Something that can get wet?’ Jesus.” Hajime continued laughing. Nagito elbowed him, rolling his eyes playfully. They continued walking for a while until Nagito grew tired and they decided to find lunch somewhere. They found a cafe in town and got a seat near a window. As they waited for their food, Nagito stared out the window, watching the pedestrians flit by. His gaze tilted up to the building across the street. There was a mural of William Butler Yeats himself, painted onto the side of the building in bright colors.  _ Maybe my lucky really did hold out. Of everywhere the knife could have landed, it happened to land in a beautiful place with a history in English for Hajime.  _ He drummed his fingers on the table. Hajime looked out the window to the mural. “So why are you a fan of Yeats?”

“He writes about beautiful things. And I like how he writes about love. It’s a difficult thing to understand, but it’s easier when someone puts it into nice words for you.” Nagito caught Hajime’s eyes. He smiled. “He has one poem that I used to really enjoy when we were first dating.”

“Oh yeah?” Hajime sat back in his seat, watching Nagito’s hands fiddle with his napkin. 

“Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven.” Nagito broke the eye contact, looking back out the window. “‘Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, enwrought with golden and silver light, the blue and the dim and the dark cloths of night and light and the half light, I would spread the cloths under your feet: but I, being poor, have only my dreams;  I have spread my dreams under your feet; tread softly because you tread on my dreams.” Nagito’s eyes looked almost nervous when they met Hajime’s again, though Hajime wasn’t sure what there was to be nervous of.  _ I’m visiting parts of my mind I don’t usually go to.  _ Nagito was thinking.  _ Parts I don’t understand well. Parts that make me nervous.  _ He took a breath. “I always thought of the poem like the poorness he’s talking about has nothing to do with money. That he’s saying he doesn’t have the right kind of love to give someone, so he gives them everything else that he has, instead. Of course, that’s just my interpretation and it’s probably meaningless, but…” Nagito trailed off. “For a long time, I had nothing but myself, Hajime. I gave you everything I had and you changed that. I’m thankful to you.”

Hajime felt a blush creep up his cheeks, so rather than mess around and try to find his own words, he said the first quote that came to his mind. “‘The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.’ That applies to you, too.” He mumbled. Nagito beamed. 

“So you do know some Yeats.” He grinned at Hajime. 

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning, they set off to explore the town a bit more. They wandered through different shops and museums, taking their time and enjoying the sights. While spring break was rather short that year, being in such a new environment made it feel much longer than it truly was. Hajime had considered taking off some extra time at the end of the trip, but a stern reminder from Principal Sonia about the long leave he’d taken when Nagito was sick convinced him not to. He’d like to keep his job, if possible. 

Sometime during the day, they’d found themselves in an antique shop. Nagito was flipping through old photos and paintings for sale, so Hajime took his own time to walk around the store. He approached a glass case fill with jewelry and small, more valuable objects. Something caught his eye immediately. Nagito resembled a bird, in Hajime’s opinion. Particularly, a glass hummingbird his grandmother had kept in her house until the day she died. Like Nagito, it had cracked many times, but always managed to stay in one piece. A small hummingbird, almost identical to the one his grandmother had owned. He opened the case and turned the bird over to check the tag underneath it. Sure enough, it was by the same artist, Angie Yonaga. He took the bird to the front of the store and bought it. “You’re lucky.” The store clerk said and Hajime coughed.  _ Oh no, ‘luck.’  _

“What?” 

“Angie Yonaga retired this year and almost none of her old sculptures are for sale, anymore. This is probably one of the last in the country.” He explained wrapping it in bubble wrap for Hajime and tucking it into a bag. 

“Good luck?” Nagito looked over, hearing a piece of their conversation. He dropped the teacup he was holding and it broke on the floor. 

“You break it, you buy it.” The clerk frowned. Nagito laughed innocently. 

“Ah, woops. Sorry, Hajime.”  _ Well at least we know what the bad luck will be to even this one out.  _ Hajime thought to himself, pulling his wallet out again. 

They walked back to the hotel when it was dark and Hajime stowed the bird in his suitcase. “May I ask why you bought that bird?” Nagito asked, tilting his head. Hajime froze for a second.  _ I’m not explaining all the sappy stuff to him right now. We’ll give that some time.  _ He shrugged, trying to play it cool. 

“No reason. Just thought it looked cool.”

“I bet it does.” Nagito smiled cheerfully.  _ His brain can still be a mystery to me.  _ Hajime laughed inwardly at Nagito’s sudden excitement. 

 

* * *

 

 

They spent the next few days doing various things around town. While it was certainly less action packed than the last vacation they'd taken together, Hajime was very glad it was that way. He’d had enough excitement in his life. On their final day in Ireland, they decided to go to Drumcliff Cemetery. It was a beautiful place, a large mountain visible from over the tall stone fence and a church steeple rising from the middle of the graveyard. Towards the right side was the most famous gravestone. Nagito and Hajime followed the path to it and looked down. A cool breeze blew past them and they could hear dried leaves rustling somewhere in the cemetery. 

 

“Cast a cold eye on life, on death

Horseman, pass by!”

 

It read. They both stared at the grave for a few minutes, silence creeping up but as a comfortable third party. Despite their quietness, the cemetery was anything but. Birds were chirping and branches were shaking in the wind around them. Hajime realized with a cold shock that it could have very easily been just him standing there, standing at a different tombstone. He wondered what quote Nagito would use. What it would look like.  _ I would have been in charge of figuring all of that out.  _ The terrible realization spread through him. There was a sudden chill in the air. Hajime blinked back hot tears, eyes trained intensely on the tombstone. 

A warm hand gripped his, pulling him from his thoughts. He looked up and to his side, Nagito was staring down at the grave, too. His expression was unreadable, but Hajime knew he was thinking something along the same lines he had been. He gripped Nagito’s hand harder and the taller man blinked, looking down at Hajime. He smiled. “All of my bad luck until the day we met had been in anticipation of meeting you, Hajime.” He murmured, running his thumb over Hajime’s hand. 

They walked back to the hotel together. Nagito wrote a postcard to Kokichi, who was working a celebrity case back home. They finished packing and the next morning boarded their flight. It had been a good vacation, but it felt even better to be home. Gundham dropped Scruffy off at their house and the small dog jumped around excitedly to see his owners home safe and sound. Nagito laughed happily, kneeling down to pet him. Hajime watched from a few feet away, hands in his coat pockets. He kneeled down next to Nagito and scratching Scruffy’s head. _Maybe Nagito’s not the only lucky one._


End file.
